EP2820727A1 - Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers - Google Patents

Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers

Info

Publication number
EP2820727A1
EP2820727A1 EP13710655.5A EP13710655A EP2820727A1 EP 2820727 A1 EP2820727 A1 EP 2820727A1 EP 13710655 A EP13710655 A EP 13710655A EP 2820727 A1 EP2820727 A1 EP 2820727A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
laser
sections
sample
wavelength
lasers
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP13710655.5A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2820727B1 (en
Inventor
Catherine Genevieve Caneau
Feng Xie
Chung-En Zah
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Thorlabs Quantum Electronics Inc
Original Assignee
Corning Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Corning Inc filed Critical Corning Inc
Publication of EP2820727A1 publication Critical patent/EP2820727A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2820727B1 publication Critical patent/EP2820727B1/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y20/00—Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/30—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region
    • H01S5/32—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region comprising PN junctions, e.g. hetero- or double- heterostructures
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/17—Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated
    • G01N21/59—Transmissivity
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/1071—Ring-lasers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/18—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities
    • H01S5/185—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only horizontal cavities, e.g. horizontal cavity surface-emitting lasers [HCSEL]
    • H01S5/187—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only horizontal cavities, e.g. horizontal cavity surface-emitting lasers [HCSEL] using Bragg reflection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/40—Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups H01S5/02 - H01S5/30
    • H01S5/4025—Array arrangements, e.g. constituted by discrete laser diodes or laser bar
    • H01S5/4087—Array arrangements, e.g. constituted by discrete laser diodes or laser bar emitting more than one wavelength
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/40—Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups H01S5/02 - H01S5/30
    • H01S5/42—Arrays of surface emitting lasers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/20—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers
    • H01S5/22—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure
    • H01S5/2205—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure comprising special burying or current confinement layers
    • H01S5/2222—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure comprising special burying or current confinement layers having special electric properties
    • H01S5/2224—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure comprising special burying or current confinement layers having special electric properties semi-insulating semiconductors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/20—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers
    • H01S5/22—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure
    • H01S5/227—Buried mesa structure ; Striped active layer
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/20—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers
    • H01S5/22—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers having a ridge or stripe structure
    • H01S5/227—Buried mesa structure ; Striped active layer
    • H01S5/2275—Buried mesa structure ; Striped active layer mesa created by etching
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/30—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region
    • H01S5/34—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region comprising quantum well or superlattice structures, e.g. single quantum well [SQW] lasers, multiple quantum well [MQW] lasers or graded index separate confinement heterostructure [GRINSCH] lasers
    • H01S5/3401—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region comprising quantum well or superlattice structures, e.g. single quantum well [SQW] lasers, multiple quantum well [MQW] lasers or graded index separate confinement heterostructure [GRINSCH] lasers having no PN junction, e.g. unipolar lasers, intersubband lasers, quantum cascade lasers
    • H01S5/3402—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region comprising quantum well or superlattice structures, e.g. single quantum well [SQW] lasers, multiple quantum well [MQW] lasers or graded index separate confinement heterostructure [GRINSCH] lasers having no PN junction, e.g. unipolar lasers, intersubband lasers, quantum cascade lasers intersubband lasers, e.g. transitions within the conduction or valence bands

Definitions

  • the present specification generally relates to semiconductor-based lasers and, more specifically, to distributed feedback lasers in the mid- infrared region that have an active core made of concentric rings to generate several wavelengths
  • DFB lasers are a solid state diode laser technology that incorporates a diffraction grating into the active region of the laser.
  • the DFB design allows for the emission of stable, single wavelengths that are slightly tunable via temperature change.
  • DFB lasers are widely used in optical communication applications where the device's precise and stable wavelength is critical.
  • the limited tunability of DFB lasers presents a number of problems and limits the overall usefulness of the devices in other fields. It would be advantageous in fields such as infrared countermeasures, gas sensing, communications, and other applications, if the strengths of DFB lasers could be expanded across a broader range of wavelengths.
  • a first embodiment comprises a laser comprising a gain material comprising at least two, compositionally non-identical, layers forming a superlattice; and at least two circular lasing sections placed in a concentric circle with a common center, wherein the gratings have non-equivalent periods or Bragg wavelengths and wherein the laser sections are separated by an electrical isolation region.
  • the gain material generates photons by intersubband transitions.
  • the lasing sections are separated by an electric isolation region comprising a semi-insulating-type layer and by removal of the highly doped part of the n-cladding layer.
  • the emission wavelength from at least one of the laser sections is from about 2.5 ⁇ to about 15 ⁇ .
  • at least one layer of the super lattice comprises Ga x Ini_ x As, where x is from 0 to 1.
  • at least one layer of the superlattice comprises Al y Ini_ y As, where y is from 0 to 1.
  • the active region comprises at least one, two, or three active stacks.
  • the laser sections lase in pulsed mode. In some embodiments, the laser pulse duration is from about 10 ns to about 1 ms. In other embodiments, the laser sections lase in continuous mode. In some
  • all laser sections may fire simultaneously. In some embodiments, the laser sections are fired sequentially.
  • a second embodiment comprises a method of detecting the signal output from a sample, comprising applying at least one laser event from an embodiment to the sample; and collecting at least some of the light after it has interacted with the sample.
  • the laser wavelength is in the mid-infrared region.
  • the collecting of the light provides information on mid-infrared absorbance of the sample.
  • the sample is in the solid, gas, or liquid phase.
  • the collecting of the light provides information on mid-infrared reflectance of the sample.
  • the sample is in the solid or liquid phase.
  • Fig. Absorption spectrum of glucose at different concentrations.
  • Fig. 3A describes a top surface emitting mid-IR three-wavelength distributed- feedback (DFB) quantum cascade (QC) concentric ring laser from the top and in cross section.
  • the metal contacts (300) of each ring laser are connected to a bonding pad which is not shown.
  • the light and current (carriers) (330) are confined by the semi- insulating (SI) InP current blocking layer. An alternate way for confinement may be provided by raised ridges.
  • Fig. 3B describes a bottom surface emitting DFB QC concentric ring laser. As in Fig.
  • the metal contacts (300) of each ring laser are connected to a bonding pad which is not shown and the light and current (carriers) are confined by the semi-insulating (SI) InP current blocking layer.
  • SI semi-insulating
  • An alternate way for confinement may be provided by raised ridges
  • Fig. 4 Reflection spectrum of five gratings with five different periods selected to match five absorption peaks of glucose shown in Fig. 2.
  • Fig. 5 Spontaneous emission spectrum from a stack of QC cores.
  • the gain peak of each core is designed to be near one of the sampling wavelengths.
  • each of the combinations A-E, A-F, B-D, B-E, B-F, C-D, C-E, and C-F are specifically contemplated and should be considered disclosed from disclosure of A, B, and/or C; D, E, and/or F; and the example combination A-D.
  • any subset or combination of these is also specifically contemplated and disclosed.
  • the sub-group of A-E, B-F, and C-E are specifically contemplated and should be considered disclosed from disclosure of A, B, and/or C; D, E, and/or F; and the example combination A-D.
  • a "superlattice” comprises at least two semiconductor materials with different bandgaps that produce quantum well confinement and intersubband transition (see, e.g., U.S. Appl. No. 61/564,375, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
  • the thicknesses of the at least two semiconductor materials may change within lattice or may be of constant thickness. If the thicknesses of the materials change, they may change in a linear or nonlinear fashion.
  • a "stage” comprises a series of quantum wells formed by the superlattice that allow electrons to transition from an injector region to an active section.
  • a “stack” comprises a series of stages.
  • the "active region” or “core” is comprised of at least one stack and is used to describe the region of the laser that produces the light emission.
  • a first embodiment comprises a multi-surface emitting mid-IR
  • the DFB-QC-CRL lasers are in a concentric arrangement with a shared common center axis.
  • the lasing wavelength of each DFB-QC ring laser is determined by its own second order grating.
  • all the DFB-QC ring lasers emit light toward the same space in the same direction.
  • the concentric ring lasers may be repeated in one or two dimensions within one chip and all the lasers can be designed to emit light toward the same spatial point.
  • the DFB-CRL lases in the infrared (“IR") region. In some embodiments, the DFB-CRL lases in the region from about 2.5 ⁇ to about 15 ⁇ .
  • IR infrared
  • Methods of forming embodiments may comprise using a fabrication process similar to that used in distributed feedback ("DFB") quantum cascade lasers (“QCLs”).
  • DFB distributed feedback
  • QCLs quantum cascade lasers
  • Embodiments herein are advantageous in that they can replace wavelength tunable external cavity (“EC”) QCLs due to smaller sizes, faster speeds and lower costs.
  • embodiments also have size and cost advantages over a DFB QCL array because DFB QCL arrays need optical combining optics to combine the output of an array into one optical beam.
  • IR infrared
  • the strong absorption lines in the mid-IR region from the vibration of chemical bonds can be used to identify molecular composition.
  • Mid-IR wavelength tunable sources like DFB QCLs may be used to scan the wavelength around an absorption line. While traditional DFB QCLs have a small wavelength tuning range of about 10 cm “1 and are often used to detect one of narrow absorption lines, such as that of a small molecule (as an example, Fig. 1 shows the absorption lines of C0 2 near 2350 cm "1 , i.e. around 4.2-4.3 ⁇ ), embodiments of the present invention have much larger wavelength coverage and may be used to detect the broad absorption line of a large molecule (Fig. 2 shows the absorption at 950-1200 cm "1 of glucose).
  • the core provides the optical gain needed to achieve lasing.
  • the core of the laser may comprise a stack of quantum cascade ("QC") or interband cascade ("IC") regions. Any QC or IC structure with broad optical gain may be used.
  • the core comprises a QC structure.
  • the core comprises an IC structure.
  • the gain peak of each core is designed to be near one of the sampling wavelengths, as shown in Fig. 5.
  • the cores with optical gain at shorter wavelength normally should be placed closer to the center of the optical mode since the optical mode of shorter wavelength is narrower than that of longer wavelength.
  • Embodiments may comprise a gain material comprising at least two, compositionally non-identical, layers forming a superlattice.
  • the thickness of the layers may be identical or may be different depending on the desired design.
  • the layers have a thickness from about 1 A to about 500 A. In some embodiments, the layers have a thickness from about 10 A to about 100 A.
  • the layers have a thickness of about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, or 500 A.
  • Materials that may be used to form the layers in the gain material generally comprise semiconductors, such as group IV, III-V, and II- VI semiconductors.
  • the layers may comprise GaAs, Al x Gai_ x As, Si x Gei_ x , or Ga x Ini_ x As and Al y Ini_ y As, GaSb, InAs, AlSb, Ga x Ini_ x Sb, wherein x and y are from 0 to 1.
  • the superlattice gain material may be produced using various techniques, for example molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) (including gas-source MBE and MO-MBE), metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), or sputtering. These methods allow production of layers with thicknesses of only a few atomic spacings.
  • MBE molecular-beam epitaxy
  • MOVPE metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
  • sputtering sputtering.
  • Embodiments may further comprise an optical waveguide.
  • An optical waveguide as used herein, comprises a physical structure that guides electromagnetic waves in the optical spectrum. While not limited to any specific type of waveguide, one type of optical waveguide commonly used is a ridge waveguide.
  • a ridge waveguide is created by etching parallel trenches in the quantum cascade gain material to create an isolated ring of QC material, typically, but not necessarily, about 10 ⁇ wide and several mm long - in the case of a ring laser, the waveguide comprises a circle or circular structure.
  • Lateral mode confinement may be achieved by the deposition in the trenches of a dielectric material, and then the entire ridge is typically coated with gold to provide electrical contact and to help remove heat from the ridge when it is producing light. More commonly, lateral mode confinement is achieved by growing in the trenches a semi-insulating material such as InP if the laser was grown on InP substrate. Light is emitted from either the top or bottom surface.
  • Embodiments may further comprise an antireflection or antireflective (AR) layer.
  • an AR layer comprises an optical coating applied to at least one face of the device and that reduces reflection, particularly in the IR region.
  • the AR layers may be of any type, such as index-matching, single layer interference, multilayer interference, or moth eye (nanostructured).
  • the AR coatings provide less than about 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.01%, 0.001%, or 0% loss.
  • Embodiments further comprise at least two laser sections placed in a concentric circle with a common center point, each laser section comprising a grating, wherein the gratings have non-equivalent periods or Bragg wavelengths.
  • a grating as used herein, comprises a structure formed from multiple layers of alternating materials with varying refractive index, or by periodic variation of some characteristic (such as height), resulting in periodic variation in the effective refractive index in the guide. Each layer boundary causes a partial reflection of an optical wave.
  • the grating acts as a high-quality reflector reflecting the light partly in the plane to achieve lasing and partly out of plane as surface emitting output.
  • Another embodiment comprises multiple concentric ring lasers repeated in one or two dimensions on a single chip.
  • the lasers are designed to emit light toward the same spatial spot.
  • Gratings with multiple periods can be patterned by electron beam ("e-beam”) writing or contact printing of a grating mask manufactured by e-beam lithography.
  • Fig. 4 shows the five reflection peaks of five gratings with five different periods selected to match five absorption peaks of glucose shown in Fig. 2.
  • Additional components that may be found in embodiments comprise n-type cladding layers both above and/or below the gain material.
  • the active gain and wavelength selective sections may be capped with a patterned electrical contact layer which comprises respective control electrodes dedicated to the different laser sections.
  • An insulating dielectric material may be deposited in appropriate regions in the patterned electrical contact layer to isolate electrically the distinct regions of the laser structure.
  • an active waveguide core may be sandwiched between upper and lower n-type cladding layers.
  • the upper and lower n-type cladding layers may comprise InP, GaAs, AlGaAs, InAs, AlSb, or any other conventional or yet-to-be developed cladding material suitable.
  • cladding materials might be suitable, including II-VI semiconductors, Si-Ge or GaN-based materials, etc.
  • Additional components may comprise insulator layers and metal contact layers (see, e.g., Figures 3A and 3B).
  • the isolation regions There are diverse ways of realizing the isolation regions. Among these are selective growth of iron-doped InP, ion implantation, and diffusion of a p-type dopant. If the last option is chosen, the respective compositions of the upper and lower n-type cladding layers and the gain material may be selected to facilitate formation of the p-type electrical isolation regions by dopant diffusion. More specifically, the upper and lower n-type cladding layers may comprise InP and the p- type dopant may be selected such that its maximum stable concentration in the InP upper n-type cladding layer is below approximately n x 10 18 cm "3 , where n is less than 3.
  • An alternative method of isolating the lasing sections comprises removal of the highly doped part of the n-cladding layer.
  • the upper and lower n-type cladding layers may be GaAs-based cladding layers.
  • Some of the cladding layers may be AlGaAs or (Al)GaInP instead of simply GaAs or InP.
  • the core may be GaAs/AlGaAs, AlGaAs/ AlGaAs, (Al)GaInP/(Al)GaInP, or GaInAs/(Al)GaAs.
  • Additional layers of similar composition are contemplated for the remaining layers of the structure and should be selected to compensate for any lattice-mismatch between GalnAs and the GaAs substrate.
  • other possible layers are GalnP, AlGalnP, GaAsP, and GalnAsP.
  • suitable dopants used to make (Al)GaAs semi-insulating include, but are not limited to Cr and O. At very low temperature growth, semi-insulating (Al)GaAs can be obtained without any dopant.
  • Embodiments herein may be used in either a pulsed or continuous-wave mode.
  • Laser pulse duration may be from about 1 ns to about 1 ms.
  • the pulse width at FWHM is about 1 ns, 2 ns, 3 ns, 4 ns, 5 ns, 6 ns, 7 ns, 8 ns, 9 ns, 10 ns, 20 ns, 50 ns, 60 ns, 70 ns, 80 ns, 90 ns, 100 ns, 200 ns, 300 ns, 400 ns, 500 ns, 600 ns, 700 ns, 800 ns, 900 ns, 1 ⁇ , 10 ⁇ , 100 ⁇ , or 1 ms.
  • devices embodied herein may be designed to fire all laser sections simultaneously, individually, and/or in a sequential or programmed order.
  • the breadth of laser wavelengths that may be output from the devices is significantly greater than what one would expect from a DFB laser.
  • DFB QCLs generally have a small tunability of around 10 cm "1 .
  • the DFB CRL lases in the region from about 2.5 ⁇ to about 15 ⁇ .
  • the DFB CRL lases at about 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, 11.0, 11.5, 12.0, 12.5, 13.0, 13.5, 14.0, 14.5, or 15.0 ⁇ .
  • Embodiments may be used in any number of methods wherein IR radiation, and particular IR laser radiation would be advantageous. Particular applications include IR absorbance or reflectance measurements, IR and FTIR spectroscopies, Raman spectroscopy, gas and/or chemical weapons detection, chemical dynamics and kinetics measurements, thermal experiments, etc. In one embodiment, the embodiments are used in IR absorbance measurements to identify molecular compositions.

Abstract

Multi-surface emitting mid-IR multiwavelength distributed-feedback quantum cascade ring lasers laid out in a concentric circle are disclosed. The lasers utilize quantum cascade core designs to produce optical gain in the mid-infrared region and may generate several wavelengths simultaneously or sequentially. Methods of making along with methods of using such devices are also disclosed.

Description

SURFACE EMITTING MULTIWAVELENGTH DISTRIBUTED-FEEDBACK
CONCENTRIC RING LASERS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 61/604,170 filed on February 28, 2012 the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The present specification generally relates to semiconductor-based lasers and, more specifically, to distributed feedback lasers in the mid- infrared region that have an active core made of concentric rings to generate several wavelengths
simultaneously or sequentially. Methods of making and using such devices are also disclosed.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
[0003] Distributed feedback ("DFB") lasers are a solid state diode laser technology that incorporates a diffraction grating into the active region of the laser. The DFB design allows for the emission of stable, single wavelengths that are slightly tunable via temperature change. DFB lasers are widely used in optical communication applications where the device's precise and stable wavelength is critical. However, the limited tunability of DFB lasers presents a number of problems and limits the overall usefulness of the devices in other fields. It would be advantageous in fields such as infrared countermeasures, gas sensing, communications, and other applications, if the strengths of DFB lasers could be expanded across a broader range of wavelengths.
SUMMARY
[0004] A first embodiment comprises a laser comprising a gain material comprising at least two, compositionally non-identical, layers forming a superlattice; and at least two circular lasing sections placed in a concentric circle with a common center, wherein the gratings have non-equivalent periods or Bragg wavelengths and wherein the laser sections are separated by an electrical isolation region. In some
embodiments, the gain material generates photons by intersubband transitions. In some embodiments, the lasing sections are separated by an electric isolation region comprising a semi-insulating-type layer and by removal of the highly doped part of the n-cladding layer. In some embodiments, the emission wavelength from at least one of the laser sections is from about 2.5 μιη to about 15 μιη. In some embodiments, at least one layer of the super lattice comprises GaxIni_xAs, where x is from 0 to 1. In some embodiments, at least one layer of the superlattice comprises AlyIni_yAs, where y is from 0 to 1. In other embodiments, the active region comprises at least one, two, or three active stacks. In some embodiments, the laser sections lase in pulsed mode. In some embodiments, the laser pulse duration is from about 10 ns to about 1 ms. In other embodiments, the laser sections lase in continuous mode. In some
embodiments, all laser sections may fire simultaneously. In some embodiments, the laser sections are fired sequentially.
[0005] A second embodiment comprises a method of detecting the signal output from a sample, comprising applying at least one laser event from an embodiment to the sample; and collecting at least some of the light after it has interacted with the sample. In some embodiments the laser wavelength is in the mid-infrared region. In some embodiments, the collecting of the light provides information on mid-infrared absorbance of the sample. In some embodiments, the sample is in the solid, gas, or liquid phase. In some embodiments, the collecting of the light provides information on mid-infrared reflectance of the sample. In some embodiments, the sample is in the solid or liquid phase.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0006] Fig. 1. Absorption spectrum of C02 near 2350 cm"1.
[0007] Fig. 2. Absorption spectrum of glucose at different concentrations.
[0008] Fig. 3A describes a top surface emitting mid-IR three-wavelength distributed- feedback (DFB) quantum cascade (QC) concentric ring laser from the top and in cross section. The metal contacts (300) of each ring laser are connected to a bonding pad which is not shown. The light and current (carriers) (330) are confined by the semi- insulating (SI) InP current blocking layer. An alternate way for confinement may be provided by raised ridges. Fig. 3B describes a bottom surface emitting DFB QC concentric ring laser. As in Fig. 3 A, the metal contacts (300) of each ring laser are connected to a bonding pad which is not shown and the light and current (carriers) are confined by the semi-insulating (SI) InP current blocking layer. An alternate way for confinement may be provided by raised ridges
[0009] Fig. 4. Reflection spectrum of five gratings with five different periods selected to match five absorption peaks of glucose shown in Fig. 2.
[0010] Fig. 5. Spontaneous emission spectrum from a stack of QC cores. The gain peak of each core is designed to be near one of the sampling wavelengths.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The present invention can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, drawings, examples, and claims, and their previous and following description. However, before the present compositions, articles, devices, and methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific compositions, articles, devices, and methods disclosed unless otherwise specified, as such can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.
[0012] The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention in its currently known embodiments. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects of the invention described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof. [0013] Disclosed are materials, compounds, compositions, and components that can be used for, can be used in conjunction with, can be used in preparation for, or are embodiments of the disclosed method and compositions. These and other materials are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these materials are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these compounds may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein. Thus, if a class of substituents A, B, and C are disclosed as well as a class of substituents D, E, and F, and an example of a combination embodiment, A-D is disclosed, then each is individually and collectively contemplated. Thus, in this example, each of the combinations A-E, A-F, B-D, B-E, B-F, C-D, C-E, and C-F are specifically contemplated and should be considered disclosed from disclosure of A, B, and/or C; D, E, and/or F; and the example combination A-D. Likewise, any subset or combination of these is also specifically contemplated and disclosed. Thus, for example, the sub-group of A-E, B-F, and C-E are specifically contemplated and should be considered disclosed from disclosure of A, B, and/or C; D, E, and/or F; and the example combination A-D. This concept applies to all aspects of this disclosure including, but not limited to any components of the compositions and steps in methods of making and using the disclosed compositions. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that can be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps can be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods, and that each such combination is specifically contemplated and should be considered disclosed.
[0014] In this specification and in the claims which follow, reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings:
[0015] "Include," "includes," or like terms means encompassing but not limited to, that is, inclusive and not exclusive.
[0016] The term "about" references all terms in the range unless otherwise stated. For example, about 1, 2, or 3 is equivalent to about 1, about 2, or about 3, and further comprises from about 1-3, from about 1-2, and from about 2-3. Specific and preferred values disclosed for compositions, components, ingredients, additives, and like aspects, and ranges thereof, are for illustration only; they do not exclude other defined values or other values within defined ranges. The compositions and methods of the disclosure include those having any value or any combination of the values, specific values, more specific values, and preferred values described herein.
[0017] The indefinite article "a" or "an" and its corresponding definite article "the" as used herein means at least one, or one or more, unless specified otherwise.
[0018] As used herein, a "superlattice" comprises at least two semiconductor materials with different bandgaps that produce quantum well confinement and intersubband transition (see, e.g., U.S. Appl. No. 61/564,375, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The thicknesses of the at least two semiconductor materials may change within lattice or may be of constant thickness. If the thicknesses of the materials change, they may change in a linear or nonlinear fashion.
[0019] As used herein, a "stage" comprises a series of quantum wells formed by the superlattice that allow electrons to transition from an injector region to an active section. As used herein, a "stack" comprises a series of stages. The "active region" or "core" is comprised of at least one stack and is used to describe the region of the laser that produces the light emission.
[0020] A first embodiment comprises a multi-surface emitting mid-IR
multiwavelength distributed- feedback quantum cascade concentric ring laser ("DFB- QC-CRL")) to generate multiple wavelengths simultaneously or sequentially in time. In some embodiments, the DFB-QC-CRL lasers are in a concentric arrangement with a shared common center axis. In some embodiments, the lasing wavelength of each DFB-QC ring laser is determined by its own second order grating. In some embodiments, all the DFB-QC ring lasers emit light toward the same space in the same direction. For certain applications needing more wavelengths, the concentric ring lasers may be repeated in one or two dimensions within one chip and all the lasers can be designed to emit light toward the same spatial point.
[0021] In some embodiments, the DFB-CRL lases in the infrared ("IR") region. In some embodiments, the DFB-CRL lases in the region from about 2.5 μιη to about 15 μιη. Such a device is capable of sampling a broad absorption line of a single molecule or several absorption lines from different molecules. Methods of forming embodiments may comprise using a fabrication process similar to that used in distributed feedback ("DFB") quantum cascade lasers ("QCLs"). Embodiments herein are advantageous in that they can replace wavelength tunable external cavity ("EC") QCLs due to smaller sizes, faster speeds and lower costs. Further,
embodiments also have size and cost advantages over a DFB QCL array because DFB QCL arrays need optical combining optics to combine the output of an array into one optical beam.
[0022] One particular application where embodiments may be useful is in chemical analysis via infrared ("IR") spectroscopy. The strong absorption lines in the mid-IR region from the vibration of chemical bonds can be used to identify molecular composition. Mid-IR wavelength tunable sources like DFB QCLs may be used to scan the wavelength around an absorption line. While traditional DFB QCLs have a small wavelength tuning range of about 10 cm"1 and are often used to detect one of narrow absorption lines, such as that of a small molecule (as an example, Fig. 1 shows the absorption lines of C02 near 2350 cm"1, i.e. around 4.2-4.3 μιη), embodiments of the present invention have much larger wavelength coverage and may be used to detect the broad absorption line of a large molecule (Fig. 2 shows the absorption at 950-1200 cm"1 of glucose).
[0023] The core provides the optical gain needed to achieve lasing. The core of the laser may comprise a stack of quantum cascade ("QC") or interband cascade ("IC") regions. Any QC or IC structure with broad optical gain may be used. In some embodiments, the core comprises a QC structure. In some embodiments, the core comprises an IC structure. The gain peak of each core is designed to be near one of the sampling wavelengths, as shown in Fig. 5. The cores with optical gain at shorter wavelength normally should be placed closer to the center of the optical mode since the optical mode of shorter wavelength is narrower than that of longer wavelength.
[0024] Embodiments may comprise a gain material comprising at least two, compositionally non-identical, layers forming a superlattice. By proper design of the layer thicknesses, it is possible to engineer a population inversion between two subbands in the system which is necessary to achieve laser emission. The thickness of the layers may be identical or may be different depending on the desired design. In some embodiments, the layers have a thickness from about 1 A to about 500 A. In some embodiments, the layers have a thickness from about 10 A to about 100 A. In some embodiments, the layers have a thickness of about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, or 500 A.
[0025] Materials that may be used to form the layers in the gain material generally comprise semiconductors, such as group IV, III-V, and II- VI semiconductors. In some embodiments, the layers may comprise GaAs, AlxGai_xAs, SixGei_x, or GaxIni_ xAs and AlyIni_yAs, GaSb, InAs, AlSb, GaxIni_xSb, wherein x and y are from 0 to 1.
[0026] The superlattice gain material may be produced using various techniques, for example molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) (including gas-source MBE and MO-MBE), metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), or sputtering. These methods allow production of layers with thicknesses of only a few atomic spacings.
[0027] Embodiments may further comprise an optical waveguide. An optical waveguide, as used herein, comprises a physical structure that guides electromagnetic waves in the optical spectrum. While not limited to any specific type of waveguide, one type of optical waveguide commonly used is a ridge waveguide. A ridge waveguide is created by etching parallel trenches in the quantum cascade gain material to create an isolated ring of QC material, typically, but not necessarily, about 10 μιη wide and several mm long - in the case of a ring laser, the waveguide comprises a circle or circular structure. Lateral mode confinement may be achieved by the deposition in the trenches of a dielectric material, and then the entire ridge is typically coated with gold to provide electrical contact and to help remove heat from the ridge when it is producing light. More commonly, lateral mode confinement is achieved by growing in the trenches a semi-insulating material such as InP if the laser was grown on InP substrate. Light is emitted from either the top or bottom surface.
[0028] Embodiments may further comprise an antireflection or antireflective (AR) layer. As used herein an AR layer comprises an optical coating applied to at least one face of the device and that reduces reflection, particularly in the IR region. The AR layers may be of any type, such as index-matching, single layer interference, multilayer interference, or moth eye (nanostructured). In some embodiments, the AR coatings provide less than about 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.01%, 0.001%, or 0% loss. [0029] Embodiments further comprise at least two laser sections placed in a concentric circle with a common center point, each laser section comprising a grating, wherein the gratings have non-equivalent periods or Bragg wavelengths. A grating, as used herein, comprises a structure formed from multiple layers of alternating materials with varying refractive index, or by periodic variation of some characteristic (such as height), resulting in periodic variation in the effective refractive index in the guide. Each layer boundary causes a partial reflection of an optical wave. For waves whose wavelength is close to the multiplication of the period and the effective refractive index, the many reflections combine with constructive interference, and the grating acts as a high-quality reflector reflecting the light partly in the plane to achieve lasing and partly out of plane as surface emitting output.
[0030] Another embodiment comprises multiple concentric ring lasers repeated in one or two dimensions on a single chip. In some embodiments, the lasers are designed to emit light toward the same spatial spot.
[0031] Gratings with multiple periods can be patterned by electron beam ("e-beam") writing or contact printing of a grating mask manufactured by e-beam lithography. Fig. 4 shows the five reflection peaks of five gratings with five different periods selected to match five absorption peaks of glucose shown in Fig. 2.
[0032] Additional components that may be found in embodiments comprise n-type cladding layers both above and/or below the gain material. The active gain and wavelength selective sections may be capped with a patterned electrical contact layer which comprises respective control electrodes dedicated to the different laser sections. An insulating dielectric material may be deposited in appropriate regions in the patterned electrical contact layer to isolate electrically the distinct regions of the laser structure.
[0033] In some embodiments, an active waveguide core may be sandwiched between upper and lower n-type cladding layers. The upper and lower n-type cladding layers may comprise InP, GaAs, AlGaAs, InAs, AlSb, or any other conventional or yet-to-be developed cladding material suitable. For example, and not by way of limitation, it is contemplated that a variety of cladding materials might be suitable, including II-VI semiconductors, Si-Ge or GaN-based materials, etc. [0034] Additional components may comprise insulator layers and metal contact layers (see, e.g., Figures 3A and 3B).
[0035] There are diverse ways of realizing the isolation regions. Among these are selective growth of iron-doped InP, ion implantation, and diffusion of a p-type dopant. If the last option is chosen, the respective compositions of the upper and lower n-type cladding layers and the gain material may be selected to facilitate formation of the p-type electrical isolation regions by dopant diffusion. More specifically, the upper and lower n-type cladding layers may comprise InP and the p- type dopant may be selected such that its maximum stable concentration in the InP upper n-type cladding layer is below approximately n x 1018 cm"3, where n is less than 3.
[0036] An alternative method of isolating the lasing sections comprises removal of the highly doped part of the n-cladding layer.
[0037] By way of example, and not limitation, it is alternatively contemplated that the upper and lower n-type cladding layers may be GaAs-based cladding layers. Some of the cladding layers may be AlGaAs or (Al)GaInP instead of simply GaAs or InP. For GaAs-based cladding layers, the core may be GaAs/AlGaAs, AlGaAs/ AlGaAs, (Al)GaInP/(Al)GaInP, or GaInAs/(Al)GaAs. Additional layers of similar composition are contemplated for the remaining layers of the structure and should be selected to compensate for any lattice-mismatch between GalnAs and the GaAs substrate. For example, and not by way of limitation, other possible layers are GalnP, AlGalnP, GaAsP, and GalnAsP. For GaAs-based cladding layers, suitable dopants used to make (Al)GaAs semi-insulating include, but are not limited to Cr and O. At very low temperature growth, semi-insulating (Al)GaAs can be obtained without any dopant.
[0038] Embodiments herein may be used in either a pulsed or continuous-wave mode. Laser pulse duration may be from about 1 ns to about 1 ms. In some embodiments, the pulse width at FWHM is about 1 ns, 2 ns, 3 ns, 4 ns, 5 ns, 6 ns, 7 ns, 8 ns, 9 ns, 10 ns, 20 ns, 50 ns, 60 ns, 70 ns, 80 ns, 90 ns, 100 ns, 200 ns, 300 ns, 400 ns, 500 ns, 600 ns, 700 ns, 800 ns, 900 ns, 1 μβ, 10 μβ, 100 μβ, or 1 ms. In some embodiments, devices embodied herein may be designed to fire all laser sections simultaneously, individually, and/or in a sequential or programmed order. [0039] As embodiments herein incorporate aspects of an external cavity quantum cascade laser, the breadth of laser wavelengths that may be output from the devices is significantly greater than what one would expect from a DFB laser. DFB QCLs generally have a small tunability of around 10 cm"1.
[0040] The peak wavelength of the laser sections may be selected to be the sampling wavelengths (λ^, I = 1 to n) of a broad absorption line of one molecule or several absorption lines from different molecules. In some embodiments, the DFB CRL lases in the region from about 2.5 μιη to about 15 μιη. In some embodiments, the DFB CRL lases at about 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, 11.0, 11.5, 12.0, 12.5, 13.0, 13.5, 14.0, 14.5, or 15.0 μιη.
[0041] Embodiments may be used in any number of methods wherein IR radiation, and particular IR laser radiation would be advantageous. Particular applications include IR absorbance or reflectance measurements, IR and FTIR spectroscopies, Raman spectroscopy, gas and/or chemical weapons detection, chemical dynamics and kinetics measurements, thermal experiments, etc. In one embodiment, the embodiments are used in IR absorbance measurements to identify molecular compositions.

Claims

We claim:
1. A laser comprising:
i) a gain material comprising at least two, compositionally non- identical, layers forming a superlattice, wherein the gain material generates photons by intersubband transitions; and at least two circular lasing sections with non-equivalent lengths placed in a concentric circle with a common center, wherein:
a. each lasing section comprises
i. a grating have a non-equivalent period or Bragg
wavelengths; and
ii. an active region; and
b. the lasing sections are separated by a electrical isolation region.
2. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the lasing sections are separated by an electric isolation region comprising a p-type or semi- insulating layer in an n-cladding layer or by removal of the high doping part of the n-cladding layer.
3. The laser of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the emission wavelength from at least one of the laser sections is from about 2.5 μιη to about 15 μιη.
4. The laser of any of claims 1-3, wherein at least one layer of the superlattice comprises GaxIni_xAs, where x is from 0 to 1.
5. The laser of any of claims 1-4, wherein at least one layer of the superlattice comprises AlyIni_yAs, where y is from 0 to 1.
6. The laser of any of claims 1-5, wherein the active region comprises at least three stacks and wherein the laser sections are arranged such that the section emitting at the shortest wavelength is closest to the common center, and the section emitting at the longest wavelength is farthest from the common center.
7. The laser of any of claims 1-6, wherein the laser sections lase in pulsed mode.
8. The laser of claim 7, wherein the laser pulse width is from about 10 ns to about 1 ms.
9. The laser of any of claims 1-6, wherein the laser sections lase in continuous mode.
10. The laser of any of claims 1-9, wherein all laser sections may fire
simultaneously.
11. The laser of any of claims 1-9, wherein the laser sections are fired
sequentially.
12. A method of detecting the signal output from a sample comprising:
a. applying at least one laser event from the laser of claim 1 to the
sample; and
b. collecting at least some of the light after it has interacted with the sample.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the laser wavelength is in the infrared
region.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the collecting of the light provides
information on infrared absorbance of the sample.
15. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the sample is in the gas phase.
16. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the sample is in the liquid phase.
17. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the sample is in the solid phase.
18. The method of any of claims 12-14, wherein the collecting of the light
provides information on infrared reflectance of the sample.
19. A device comprising multiple lasers of any of claims 1-11, wherein the lasers are designed to emit light toward the same spatial spot.
EP13710655.5A 2012-02-28 2013-02-25 Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers Active EP2820727B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201261604170P 2012-02-28 2012-02-28
PCT/US2013/027561 WO2013130375A1 (en) 2012-02-28 2013-02-25 Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2820727A1 true EP2820727A1 (en) 2015-01-07
EP2820727B1 EP2820727B1 (en) 2020-04-08

Family

ID=47901332

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP13710655.5A Active EP2820727B1 (en) 2012-02-28 2013-02-25 Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US10811845B2 (en)
EP (1) EP2820727B1 (en)
JP (1) JP2015508243A (en)
KR (1) KR20140129200A (en)
CN (1) CN104662750B (en)
TW (1) TW201342755A (en)
WO (1) WO2013130375A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9231368B2 (en) 2012-11-30 2016-01-05 Thorlabs Quantum Electronics, Inc. Passive waveguide structure with alternating GaInAs/AlInAs layers for mid-infrared optoelectronic devices
US9819150B2 (en) 2013-06-05 2017-11-14 University Of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc. Surface-emitting ring-cavity quantum cascade laser with ring-shaped phase shifter and related methods
DE112015001051B4 (en) * 2014-02-28 2020-06-18 Thorlabs Quantum Electronics, Inc. Passive waveguide structure with alternating GaInAs / AlInAs layers for optoelectronic devices in the middle infrared
US9991677B2 (en) 2014-05-13 2018-06-05 California Institute Of Technology Index-coupled distributed-feedback semiconductor quantum cascade lasers fabricated without epitaxial regrowth
US9438011B2 (en) * 2014-08-12 2016-09-06 California Institute Of Technology Single-mode, distributed feedback interband cascade lasers
CN105790069A (en) * 2015-07-08 2016-07-20 长春理工大学 Semiconductor laser with elliptic annular window
US11239634B2 (en) * 2016-02-29 2022-02-01 Unm Rainforest Innovations Ring laser integrated with silicon-on-insulator waveguide
JP7077500B2 (en) * 2017-01-12 2022-05-31 ローム株式会社 Surface emitting laser element, optical device
JP7052287B2 (en) * 2017-10-25 2022-04-12 ウシオ電機株式会社 Semiconductor light emitting device
US11658453B2 (en) * 2018-01-29 2023-05-23 Ronald LaComb Concentric cylindrical circumferential laser
FR3078834B1 (en) * 2018-03-08 2020-03-27 Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE VCSEL AND A DIFFUSION LENS
CN109215891B (en) * 2018-10-25 2024-03-22 杨伟 Concentric debugging auxiliary equipment for electric wires and cables and debugging method thereof
US11456573B2 (en) 2019-10-02 2022-09-27 California Institute Of Technology Tapered-grating single mode lasers and method of manufacturing
CN112993751B (en) * 2021-01-28 2022-08-19 湖北光安伦芯片有限公司 Nano-column VCSEL light source structure and preparation method thereof

Family Cites Families (23)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH0815231B2 (en) * 1986-12-26 1996-02-14 松下電器産業株式会社 Semiconductor laser device
DE69009329T2 (en) * 1989-07-20 1994-10-13 Canon Kk Light-emitting device and method for its production.
US5179040A (en) * 1990-07-16 1993-01-12 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Method of making a semiconductor laser device
EP0614255B1 (en) * 1993-03-04 1997-09-10 AT&T Corp. Article comprising a focusing surface emitting semiconductor laser
KR0132018B1 (en) 1994-01-27 1998-04-14 김만제 Circle grating surface emitting laser diode
US6560259B1 (en) * 2000-05-31 2003-05-06 Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. Spatially coherent surface-emitting, grating coupled quantum cascade laser with unstable resonance cavity
US6696307B2 (en) * 2000-12-06 2004-02-24 Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. Patterned phase shift layers for wavelength-selectable vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays
EP1371120B1 (en) * 2001-03-09 2013-05-08 Alight Photonics ApS Mode control using transversal bandgap structure in vcsels
JP2003069145A (en) * 2001-06-14 2003-03-07 Furukawa Electric Co Ltd:The Method of manufacturing distributed feedback semiconductor laser element group
JP2003086890A (en) * 2001-09-11 2003-03-20 Oki Electric Ind Co Ltd Method of manufacturing semiconductor light emitting element
JP4389585B2 (en) 2001-10-19 2009-12-24 旭硝子株式会社 Substrate with transparent conductive oxide film and photoelectric conversion element
JP3857632B2 (en) * 2002-09-27 2006-12-13 株式会社東芝 Vertical cavity surface emitting laser device
JP4745614B2 (en) 2004-01-27 2011-08-10 三菱重工業株式会社 Solar power plant
JP2006286809A (en) * 2005-03-31 2006-10-19 Fujitsu Ltd Optical semiconductor device and its manufacturing method
JP2008053649A (en) * 2006-08-28 2008-03-06 Mitsubishi Electric Corp Buried semiconductor laser
KR20090042943A (en) 2007-02-16 2009-05-04 미츠비시 쥬고교 가부시키가이샤 Photoelectric converter and method for fabricating the same
JP2009059918A (en) * 2007-08-31 2009-03-19 Sumitomo Electric Ind Ltd Optical semiconductor device
JP5205034B2 (en) * 2007-11-06 2013-06-05 ローム株式会社 Surface emitting laser diode
ITPI20080039A1 (en) 2008-05-05 2009-11-06 Scuola Normale Superiore CIRCULAR LASER WITH SEMICONDUCTOR WITH RETICLES FOR VERTICAL EMISSION
FR2932616B1 (en) * 2008-06-13 2010-07-30 Commissariat Energie Atomique TERAHERTZ WAVE EMISSION LASER DEVICE
US9059422B2 (en) 2009-02-03 2015-06-16 Kaneka Corporation Substrate with transparent conductive film and thin film photoelectric conversion device
CN101847828B (en) 2010-05-07 2012-03-28 中国科学院半导体研究所 Vertical launching quantum cascade laser structure
US9246310B2 (en) * 2010-08-03 2016-01-26 President And Fellows Of Harvard College Wavelength beam combining of quantum cascade laser arrays

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2013130375A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR20140129200A (en) 2014-11-06
JP2015508243A (en) 2015-03-16
WO2013130375A1 (en) 2013-09-06
US10811845B2 (en) 2020-10-20
EP2820727B1 (en) 2020-04-08
CN104662750B (en) 2017-09-05
CN104662750A (en) 2015-05-27
US20130221223A1 (en) 2013-08-29
TW201342755A (en) 2013-10-16

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10811845B2 (en) Surface emitting multiwavelength distributed-feedback concentric ring lasers
US9948063B2 (en) Waveguide structure for mid-IR multiwavelength concatenated distributed-feedback laser with an active core made of cascaded stages
US10431957B2 (en) Multiwavelength quantum cascade laser via growth of different active and passive cores
US9455551B2 (en) Mid-IR multiwavelength concatenated distributed-feedback laser with an active core made of cascaded stages
US9385509B2 (en) Monolithic wide wavelength tunable mid-IR laser sources

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20140925

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: BA ME

DAX Request for extension of the european patent (deleted)
STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: EXAMINATION IS IN PROGRESS

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20171002

RAP1 Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred)

Owner name: THORLABS QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, INC.

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R079

Ref document number: 602013067654

Country of ref document: DE

Free format text: PREVIOUS MAIN CLASS: H01S0005183000

Ipc: H01S0005120000

GRAP Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR1

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: GRANT OF PATENT IS INTENDED

RIC1 Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant

Ipc: H01S 5/34 20060101ALI20190912BHEP

Ipc: B82Y 20/00 20110101AFI20190912BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/183 20060101ALI20190912BHEP

RIC1 Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant

Ipc: H01S 5/42 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/12 20060101AFI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/227 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/40 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/22 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/34 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: B82Y 20/00 20110101ALI20190918BHEP

Ipc: H01S 5/187 20060101ALI20190918BHEP

INTG Intention to grant announced

Effective date: 20191008

GRAS Grant fee paid

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR3

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE PATENT HAS BEEN GRANTED

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: REF

Ref document number: 1255632

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20200415

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: EP

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: IE

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R096

Ref document number: 602013067654

Country of ref document: DE

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: NL

Ref legal event code: MP

Effective date: 20200408

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: LT

Ref legal event code: MG4D

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200709

Ref country code: NO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200708

Ref country code: PT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200817

Ref country code: IS

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200808

Ref country code: FI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: NL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: SE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: LT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: MK05

Ref document number: 1255632

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20200408

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: HR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: BG

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200708

Ref country code: LV

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: RS

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: AL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R097

Ref document number: 602013067654

Country of ref document: DE

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: SM

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: EE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: AT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: RO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: IT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: ES

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: CZ

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

PLBE No opposition filed within time limit

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: PL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

Ref country code: SK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

26N No opposition filed

Effective date: 20210112

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: SI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MC

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: BE

Ref legal event code: MM

Effective date: 20210228

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

Ref country code: LU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210225

Ref country code: CH

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: PK

Free format text: BERICHTIGUNGEN

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

Ref country code: IE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210225

Ref country code: LI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

Ref country code: CH

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

PGRI Patent reinstated in contracting state [announced from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LI

Effective date: 20211025

Ref country code: CH

Effective date: 20211025

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: CH

Payment date: 20211025

Year of fee payment: 9

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: BE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20210228

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: PL

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20220228

Ref country code: CH

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20220228

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: HU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT; INVALID AB INITIO

Effective date: 20130225

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20230227

Year of fee payment: 11

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20230223

Year of fee payment: 11

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: CY

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20200408